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Each night during his journey across the netherworld, the sun god Ra's barque crosses the desert Rostau, realm of the falcon god Sokar, borne by snakes.
maps

In Ancient Egypt, the Duat Was a Netherworld of Gods and Monsters

A guide called the Amduat helped pharaohs navigate the complex afterlife.
Nicky Nielsen October 3, 2023
Lewisburg, West Virginia

Greenbrier County Courthouse

Step into the courtroom to learn details of the only case in history where ghostly testimony led to a murderer's conviction.
The limestone canopic jars of lady Senetnay featured lids shaped like human heads. Two jars are kept at the Museum August Kestner in Hanover, Germany.
mummies

Get a Whiff of Ancient Egypt’s 'Scent of Eternity'

Experts reconstructed the smell of mummified organs—and it’s actually pretty pleasant.
Roxanne Hoorn September 14, 2023
The eruption of a volcano on Spain’s La Palma island took a toll on nearby fish.
volcanoes

Volcanoes Kill Fish In Many Gruesome Ways

From bubbly eyeballs to internal bleeding, eruptions can have deadly consequences for marine animals.
Chris Baraniuk August 28, 2023
Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania

Molly McGuire Memorial

A monument to an Irish secret society thought to be responsible for a string of violent attacks in Pennsylvania coal mines.
Stockholm, Sweden

Galgbacken (Gallow Hill)

The site of Stockholm's last public execution.
London, England

Tower Hill Execution Site

A memorial for public executions that date back to the 14th century.
death

Podcast: Close to the Edge, Part 2

Dive into another installment of our listeners' near-death travel experiences.
The Podcast Team June 12, 2023
Framingham, Massachusetts

Graves of John Cloyce & Abraham Rice

In 1777, two men were killed after being struck by lightning at the same time.
strange science

Podcast: Frozen Dead Guy

Near a Colorado mountain town, there's the frozen corpse of a Norwegian grandpa. We get the tale of how this came to be.
The Podcast Team June 7, 2023
On Tuckernuck Island, the American giant millipede is in danger of losing its head. Scientists don't know what is responsible for the unprecedented number of decapitations.
science

The Mystery of the Headless Millipedes

Every summer, hundreds of millipedes are murdered on one small Massachusetts island.
William von Herff May 26, 2023
death

Podcast: Close to the Edge

We all dream of the perfect vacation. This episode is about the opposite.
The Podcast Team May 10, 2023
The haunting by the entity known as the Bell Witch has resonated across centuries of American history.
haunted

The Elusive, Maddening Mystery of the Bell Witch

A classic ghost story has something to say about America—200 years ago, 100 years ago, and today.
Colin Dickey May 2, 2023
Madison Dry Goods Museum
Madison, North Carolina

Madison Dry Goods and Country Store

The upstairs museum delves into the Lawson family murder, whose eight victims were embalmed at this store in 1929.
Some families even set up a full spread on a picnic table.
cemeteries

Why Georgians Dine in Cemeteries for Orthodox Easter

Honoring the dead sometimes means breaking bread with them.
Helena Bedwell April 13, 2023
Snoopy
Monacnappa, Ireland

Blarney Castle Horse Graveyard

Horse cemetery on the grounds of Blarney Castle.
Metal guitarist and paper effigy artisan Koh Eng Keat sits on his motorcycle in front of a seven-foot-tall paper mansion. Keat runs 358 Custom Effigies Workshop with his father Koh Ah Bah where building elaborate papier-mâché effigies like this are just part of a normal workday.
funeral art

Meet the Punk Rocker Building Life-Sized Paper Effigies for Malaysia’s Ghosts

The doom metal guitarist builds papier-mâché BMWs, iPhones, and mansions—then it all goes up in smoke.
Marco Ferrarese February 24, 2023
Tokyo, Japan

Kimi-Chan

This sculpture bears a tragic backstory that may have inspired a hauntingly beautiful children's song.